​In the second age when mortals could no longer witness their Creators, the four brothers namely Dream, Shadow, Dreary & Halo killed almost all of the Bloomers in the Irun World on the order of their master Alwerik. Though the brothers didn’t intend to harm the Bloomers, they were bound to complete their mission or lose their mortal forms for eternity. This wouldn’t even be the first time they have lost their mortal forms and the last time they did, they lost their mother and were locked up in a cage that killed every possible hope to even exist.

In the candlelight, I couldn’t stop looking into her twinkling eyes while sitting across from her on a romantic cold evening. Her beautiful eyes often expressed so much more than her words did and on that special evening, she couldn’t stop showing me how happy she was about my achievement. What I loved the most was that she didn’t even say, “Congratulations!”
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I mean, why would she? It was her success too as much as it was mine. On that pleasant evening, I was finally relieved of the responsibility that I had accepted when I stepped into this foreign land referred to as Italia. I was finally a graduate in the field of Computer Science from the Sapienza University of Rome and it had taken me three years to get to that point. Though the journey wasn’t easy, I hadn’t just earned a degree but also met the girl who struck my heart with her thunder.

Sipping wine as we sat outside the Italian restaurant under a big fancy umbrella, I was rethinking if it was the right time.

On one hand, there was a part of me that said, “You have been in a relationship for two years now. It's time to pop the question!” 

On the other hand, there was this fear about how she would respond. Even though I was fond of her and I was certain about her feelings for me too, I was really nervous about how she would respond if I asked her about marriage. Especially considering how her parents set such a poor example.

Looking at my formal shirt with rolled-up shirtsleeves and a folded tie in my left pocket, I thought my attire wasn’t helping in making this situation as perfect as I had wanted it to be. To be fair, I wore the same shirt for my thesis defence that afternoon and we met that evening to have dinner and celebrate the night as planned.

Even though I loved the Windsor Knot she tied before my presentation, both of us agreed that we couldn’t go to dinner with me wearing my tie and overly formal blazer. As I was preoccupied with my thoughts, I felt her hand on the top of mine on the table and with her raised eyebrows, she asked if everything was okay.

Looking at her, I just smiled and her lips widened to return a smile. Everything seemed perfect and I wanted to halt time if I could and never let that moment pass. When I started in this land filled with blue skies, historical landmarks, incessant rains and extremely hot summers at times years ago, there wasn’t much hope that I would even complete my course. I felt underqualified back then and every step seemed like rowing against the tide just to fail.

But having her in my life turned things around completely and I started enjoying every moment of my existence. How times change! How perceptions change! When I was dispirited because of all the big life changes and the lack of social life, in the beginning, my father always kept saying, “Life is ever-changing. Do not forget to live through all experiences and never carry any regrets.”

He couldn’t be more right. As a clueless youngster, dinner in a restaurant was not just beyond my budget but a privilege I thought I didn’t deserve. After the shift in my perspective, it became more of a need to taste different cuisines and appreciate what every culture had to offer. 

For a while, we sat holding hands while feeling the warmth of the candle until we bid goodbye to the place that served us for the evening. Still holding hands, as she leaned her head on my shoulder, we walked by the banks of the Tiber river that runs through the city of Rome.

In the moonlight, as teenagers howled in happiness walking in groups and trees danced to the winds dropping their leaves, we walked to her place that was three lanes away from the restaurant. As we walked, a thought crossed my mind: if it wasn’t for her, how would my life be? As I firmly held her hand and she raised her head to look at me.

Both of us stopped and she looked at me with a smile, she pinched my cheek before we continued our walk in the moonlight. On the cold night as we walked to her place, I finally mustered some courage to tell her what I was meaning to tell her that entire evening. Holding both her hands, I whispered, “Supriya, will you…”

Looking at her, I couldn’t say a word more. Taking a step forward, she planted a lovely kiss before saying, “Yes!”

​On a sunny morning, Meera, Rithika and I sat in my lawn to have tea. Every weekend after we completed our walk, we would reach our homes to have tea. 

This week, it was my place and the climate was pleasant and both the kids left to play along with him to the indoor stadium.

One of the perks of being married to a businessman is that we could own a villa by the time we were forty years without the bank slips chasing us in our dreams.
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After we settled in the chairs placed in our garden after the maid placed biscuits, a kettle of tea and cups, I couldn’t help but notice that Meera has lost a lot of weight.

She is no longer chubby and I couldn’t help but suspect that it was out of pressure. After all, she was running a failing art house. ​

Before the Fairies existed to answer human fears, the mother of creations offered two choices for all men, after her embodiment in two forms defeated the four brothers. Although she wished that all humans be kind and virtuous, she knew there inevitably would be a few seeking the material possessions long lost in the darkness. The two choices she offered were to either be virtuous or immoral in nature. Most wise men believed that virtuousness is only valued because of the immoral and they quoted it “Only in the darkness shall light pave way and only in ignorance can one desecrate a day.”
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Men are the brightest of all creations but their resolute is weak without a purpose and so the choices were given by the Mother.
While men who chose being virtuous, held their icon as Olrin, the symbol of knowledge and the master who defeated the Great Dream led their lives helping each other and wished for nothing more than peace and bliss. While the men who chose the dark powers held their icon as Archen and their driving desire was unyielding power and eternal life.
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Since ages, both these choices were balanced but as years passed by, most humans supported Olrin. The world for the first time witnessed an imbalance and most men believed that a war was near and that it would certainly not lead to a happy ever after.

​Dear Diary,

All of us are destined to have a shoulder to lean on and when the proper occasion comes even the person who spent decades in loneliness would have someone caring for him within days. As fate and time are so alike that both of them are random and relentless, while the first one changes the individual, the second one changes the spirit.
But in my case what transformed me was my sweetheart. Life was so tedious until I met him as an intern. Not that he changed everything but he made me recognize things from a different perception like never before. He motivated me by giving me a target and provoked my determination to such a degree that I reached the pinnacle.

Do you want to know how he inspired me? Well, the answer is just by working in Ratan Industries. To tell you the tale completely, I must tell you a long story but before we get started, I want you to know that today is the most awaited day of my life. It is my first day at Ratan Industries not as an intern any longer but as an employee working in the Heat Exchange Department as an assistant engineer.

I am not just cheerful because my name will be printed in his place or I am not just pleased because I would be sharing a cabin with him. I am happy because I am finally getting to meet my Prince Charming after years.

“I love you!”
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-Naina